Build A What?
by StoryKnight
Summary: A group of people walk into Build A Bear, unaware that their lives will change forever. Bad summary, sorry.


Ever since the mall changed its hours, I have dreaded coming to work. There is no reason for the mall to be open until midnight every single day. Who brings their child to Build A Bear at that hour?

It's been dead for nearly an hour. My manager would kill me if she saw me doing homework but no one is here and I really don't care.

I look up just in time to see a family walk in.

The man had on the nicest suit I've ever seen. It probably cost more than I've made in my entire life. He did not look happy to be here. His wife and son looked excited though.

"Hey guys welcome to Build A Bear!" God, that was so unenthusiastic. I hope they didn't notice.

The man raised his eyebrow at me and shook his head. His son came running over to me.

"Hi! I'm Tommy! I'm 7 years old and I have never been to Build A Bear before. I don't know what to do."

I'm really not in the mood to walk this family around the store. It's so late. "Alright I'll show you what to do."

First, we went to the animals. "These are all the animals we have. We don't just have bears. We have dogs, cats, ponies and monkeys. Pick out the one you want."

The kid took about ten seconds and had three animals in his hand. "Can I get all of these?!"

"Of course you can!" the woman said. "Get whatever you want." She whispered something into the man's ear and he smiled.

Tommy came over to me with his animals. "The next station is right over here. Let me show you what to do."

Once they were all set up, Tommy started picking out the personalities he wanted for each animal with the help of his parents.

"I want adventurous and strong and playful!"

"Well what about cute?" The woman asked. Tommy looked annoyed. "No! Boys aren't cute!"

The man leaned over him. "You can't forget nerdy." "No he's not nerdy." "Well nerdy means he's smart. Don't you want him to be smart like your dad?" Tommy thought about it for a second and dragged nerdy into the heart.

After he did this for all three bears, we walked over to the sound station. After his mother spent five minutes arguing with him, she convinced him to put Roar by Katy Perry inside the Spiderman bear. He chose the monkey sound for the monkey and a giggle for the other bear.

We went to the sound machine and he sat in the chair. "Sorry little man," I told him. "That seat's for me. You get to stand next to me and press the pedal." He jumped out of the chair and started slamming on the pedal. He was getting frustrated.

"Why isn't it working?"

"It's magic."

"Magic?"

"Yeah. See, it's not working because there is no bear on it. As soon as I put the bear on it, you'll be able to stuff it. But first, I need your help with something. Do you still have the hearts for your animals?"

"I wanna stuff them first!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright Tommy we cans tuff the bears first. Do you want them to be soft and cuddly? Or nice and firm?"

"SOFT AND CUDDLY!" His mom yelled. The father looked at her and whispered something in her ear. She laughed and pushed him away.

"Yeah I want them soft and cuddly."

I started stuffing the bears as I talked to Tommy. I learned a lot about him. His dad owns a business (he doesn't know what kind). His mom is an "animal doctor. She helps sick puppies and horses!"

While I was stuffing the second bear, I watched his parents. I've never seen a married couple with a seven year old flirt like that before. They were so in love. I admit I'm kind of jealous of them. I hope that when I'm married, my husband and I are still like that.

After stuffing the third bear, I explained to Tommy what happens next. "We are going to take those hearts and do something very special with them, ok? I'm going to need a lot of help with this."

Tommy was jumping up and down with excitement.

"I need you to take those hearts and shake them up really good so they start beating." He shook them.

"Can you rub them on your forehead to make your animals super smart?!" He rubbed them on his head.

"Rub it on your nose so they smell awesome!" He laughed and rubbed them.

"Put it on your heart so they're full of love." He rubbed it all over his belly until his mom pointed out where his heart was.

"Rub it on your mom's heart so they have extra love." He looked a little confused but then the woman took the heart and placed it on hers."

"Put it on your dad's muscles so it's big and strong like him!" The father took the heart and rubbed it on his arms.

"Ok Tommy run it on your legs so they can run fast then run in place for me so they know how to run." He didn't understand what I meant by run in place so he ran all around the store. His parents were laughing so hard I thought they would keel over.

Tommy made it back to me and was completely out of breath. "One last thing. Take the hearts, squeeze them tight, close your eyes and make a big wish." He squeezed his eyes closed for a minute then opened them.

"Kiss the hearts and give them to your parents to kiss."

He kissed each heart individually then handed them to his parents. His mom closed her eyes and went to kiss the heart. At the last second, his father pulled the heart away and gave her a really passionate kiss. She opened her eyes and looked surprised. She handed Tommy the hearts.

As he was helping me put the hearts in the bears, I watched his parents. They stepped away so I couldn't hear them but I could tell she was annoyed. He had the biggest smile on his face though and it seemed to anger her more.

"WHATS SO FUNNY?!" She roared. He leaned in and kissed her again. This time, he didn't stop. He held her like her was afraid to lose her. When they pulled apart, they came back over. She was smiling now.

As I stitched the animals, I started talking to the parents. "So, how long have you been together?"

The man looked at his watch. "Um.. about two minutes." He smiled even bigger.

Wait… What? "I'm sorry?"

They laughed. "Tommy isn't our son. He's a potential client's kid. He was getting restless at the office so Donna offered to bring him to Build A Bear. I didn't want to come but she forced me. Now, I'm glad I did." He pulled her in for a hug.

I felt so embarrassed. "I'm sorry! Why didn't you correct me? I wouldn't have been mad."

"It didn't even phase us. I enjoyed pretending to bring our son here," Donna said.

I smiled and looked at the guy. "So since you're technically not dad, what's your name?"

"It's Harvey Specter."

That name sounded so familiar. Where did I know it from…

"I know you! Pearson-Specter law firm! My dream is to work there. I just got accepted into Harvard the other day." I couldn't hide my excitement. I stood up to shake his hand. "It's such an honor to meet you."

He seemed surprised. "I think this is the first time I've been told by a high school student that it was an honor to meet me. You just got into Harvard?"

"Yes sir!"

He pulled his card out of his pocket and gave it to me. "Hold onto this. If you ever need anything, give me a call. After all," he looked at Donna. "You helped me convince the woman I'm in love with to finally admit how awesome I am."

Donna sighed. "See why I held out for so long? So arrogant…" He just shrugged and gave her a kiss.

As they walked away, he handed me $100. "It's the least I could do."

I was shaking. I don't make this much in a shift. "I'm sorry Mr. Specter. I can't accept it."

"Please take it. Like I said, it's the least I can do. And call me Harvey."

"I would love to take it, really. But I can't. It's against company policy and I can get fired for accepting it."

Harvey smiled. "I know that it's company policy. I wanted to see how honest you were. But if there is anything you need, if a professor gives you a hard time, tell them you know me. If they don't believe you, call me. I'll put them in their place." He winked and went to join Donna.

Maybe there are some benefits to keeping the mall open late.


End file.
